Wow, that car should be seen on radio! I have to say you are a brave man! The inside of that coupling is a steel grid like thingie that wraps around 2 hubs with grooves cut in them to accept thegrid thingie. When assembling you pack the 2 sheetmetal housing halves with grease for lubrication. They allow some slight misallignment and angularity between the 2 shafts. I know on paper machinery that they turn some very high rpms in some applications, and can handle some serious loads. Seems like a good solution instead of a "Greek Coupler" like the boat guys use.
You can see that the designer/builder was truly an engineer btw, in the overall design being function over form.Another piece of automotive history saved!
yes, the design is all about function...well, except for most of it! Sitting right next to the engine, with the exhaust manifold less than two inches away from my thigh, and only a piece of sheet steel and some burned carpet between, makes me wonder. The aesthetics are wonderful, in a really strange way. I guess it has that 1977 Star Wars space fighter plane look to it.
I've been driving the funky little car some more. I think it'll be OK in the cooler weather that's coming, and the trip I'm planning to take in it to Minnesota, then the Rt 66 LeMons Rally, will probably be pretty mild, or chilly, so overheating should not be an issue. Although it gets warm going up hills. I did order a different radiator for it, but I don't know if it will show up in time to change all that before I go. The radiator is really funky...it's a normal mid size GM cross flow, mounted with the filler hole as high as it can be, and angled in both directions. The upper hose from the thermostat on the engine goes to the bottom of the radiator, and the lower hose off the water pump goes to the upper tank. But it's like that for a reason...so that it's more likely to get coolant in all the tubes. My plan is to put a normal vertical flow radiator (for an early Mustang) in the car, instead of the cross flow. We'll see what happens.
btw this thing looks like total crap under the aluminum skin.
Hi Jim,
Does it run warm just under excessive load while climbing hills or also stopped idling. Looks like plenty of radiator if it is good condition internally. Would think more of an air flow problem, those fans would never be sufficient here in Florida, especially without a good shroud. Is there any room for improvement with air dam or air deflection into the radiator?
It's always fun following your latest adventures. It was great to see your Hudson and talk with you last year at the Nugget car show.
Jason
2011 Drag Week (unlimited) 5th place 10.89 avg.
2012 Drag Week (unlimited) 5th place 10.55 avg.
all time best 10.27 @ 127
The fans...I removed the black fan, and left the metal fan, but added a big fan to the bottom of the radiator, set up as a puller. It cools mostly ok when stopped, it just doesn't like working hard, like hills and high speeds. The radiator angle is a weird thing, it's not designed to work like that, so it has problems.
I might get my new radiator Tuesday or Wednesday, if so I'll see about installing it before I leave for the LeMons Rally the following Monday.
I got my new aluminum 65 Mustang radiator in the mail today, so I decided to see if I could install it. It took all day and night, but it's in now. The most time consuming part was making a new alternator bracket. The new radiator makes it so a mechanical fan is more sensible than an electric fan. The problem was that the way the alternator had been cobbled on to the engine, it had no adjustment, and the belt was a tad loose...which is a problem when turning a fan. So I made a new bracket, and now that part's better. Then I mounted the new radiator, it fits pretty well. Back on the road. Tomorrow when it gets warm out, I'll see if the car stays cooler.
the trip is going ok, had to replace an axle yesterday (wheel bearings are no longer available). I'm in Minnesota where it's cold, visiting relatives yesterday, and heading for Chicago for the start of the rt 66 LeMons Rally tomorrow morning
anyways....did the LeMons Rally, they haven't announced the awards yet, but the Wedge was in first place going into the last day. I made it home, too. I'm wore out.
And the car might be up for sale soon, if you know any idiots who are car shopping
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